POLICE COURT.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 270, 12 November 1909, Page 5

POLICE COURT.

(Before Mr. E. C. Qutten, S.M.) THE DRUNKARDS. Frederick Cross was charged with drunkenness, with procuring liquor while prohibited, and with being an habitual drunkard, to all of which charges he pleaded guilty. This man came to Sydney from Glasgow in a sailing ship in 1908. lie worked his passage to New Zealand some time afterwards, and since his arrival in this country he has been convicted of drunkenness some half a dozen times. The man would certainly have been sent to Pakatoa Island had he not promised to get out of the country. The Magistrate, however, decided to let him go if he would, and convicted him and ordered him to come up for sentence when called upon. Mary Ann Windsor has been in gaol doing three months, but she was liberated on Wednesday, and 24 hours afterwards fell into the hands of the police again. Tho charges against her were that she was drunk, and that"she procured liquor while prohibited. She was convicted and discharged. Two first offenders were convicted, and fined 5/ or 24 hours, and another, a lad of nineteen, was convicted and discharged. A STURDY BEGGAR. Edward Russell, a tall, ablonbodtcxl man, has been about the streets of Auckland for three weeks past. A fortnight ago he had no money, and since then has made no effort to earn any. Instead of working, he has "sponged" on drunken men, and has been seen and heard begging for food and for small sums of money. lie was arrested yesterday, and •charged that lie was an incorrigible rogue. The Magistrate convicted accused, aud gave him what he considered the very light sentence of one month's imprisonment, warning him at the same time that if he did not at once go to work after the expiry of his sentence lie would probably find himself in Court aga in. JOHNSON v DANIELS. This was not for the coloured championship of the world, but they had a tight, and they meant business sure enough. Roth the contestants were coloured men. Johnson is a talkative man at any time, and was especially so this morning in the dock. He was also a little bit dilapidated. Daniels had had rather the best of the fray, out of which Johnson had come with a black eye and a disabled arm. Daniels is much too well known to need any description. To-day he looked quite spick and span in a striped flannel suit and other things to match, and not a bit the worse for his disturbance with Johnson. The charge against them was that they used threatening behaviour whereby a breach of the peace was occasioned. They were convicted and fined 10/, in default 48 hours. A LICENSING CASE. John Irvine, barman of the Alexandra Hotel, Was charged with having supplied liquor to a prohibited person. All the facts were admitted. Mr. R. A. Singer appeared for the accused, and asked that the information be dismissed on the ground that the olTence was a trivial one. His Worship reserved decision. THE BY-LAWS. Three cabmen named Hairy Reathart, (i.en Cave, and Sam Col well, who pleaded guilty to charges that they were not in attendance within 10ft of their cabs, were convicted and discharged. Conrad Keith and James Francis were lined 10/, costs 7/, for having caused an obstruction on the roadway at Epsom. REMANDS. Mary Clark, charged that she was a rogue and a vagabond, was remanded for a week. John Francis SUver, a man of about 00 years of age, was charged with bavin;? committed an unnatural offence. He was remanded for a week. AN UNFORTUNATE BOY. Constable Cowan, at Helensville, had his attention directed to a very pitiful case at Kumeu some days ago. He was looking for a man, and one of the places where he made search for him was a whare, in which he found five drunken men, a prostitute, and a little boy, who also bad had drink. The boy 'was clad in scanty rags, and had evidently been brought up like a little savage. He smoked and drank and swore like tho men, but he could not lead nor write, and he didn't know how old he was. His father said that he was 17 years old, but this was palpably wrong. The boy looked about 12 or 14. The constable took charge of the boy a day or two later, and brought him to town. This morning he 'appeared before Cutten, who decided to commit him to an industrial school. Then

■-. difficulty arose. Of what reHgion was he? He didn't know; he had never been to any kind of church. The case was adjourned, then, for further inquiry as to the boy's antecedents.